Ferrari gears up its HK sales drive

ITALIAN Motors, exclusive distributor for Ferrari in Hong Kong, China and Macau, plans to sell 50 of its cars this year - almost double last year's figure of 27.

Alex Yip, assistant general manager of marketing for Italian Motors sale and service division, said the growing number of Ferraris being sold in Hong Kong was due to increasing quotas for the Asia-Pacific and the weak performance in European markets.

Italian Motors has already sold more than 25 Ferraris this year.

Managing director Herbert Adamczyk said Ferrari would set up two more showrooms, in Shanghai in May and Guangzhou by the end of this year. A showroom was opened in Beijing in February.

But he said the company would only appoint local service agents to provide after-sales service because the number of Ferraris in China was still small.

Six Ferraris have been sold - four in Beijing and two in Guangzhou - since Ferrari first involved itself in China last May.

Mr Adamczyk said it would set up its own workshop in Beijing only when the number of cars reached more than 50, which would justify the huge investment cost.

The company had appointed Turbo Gain Company, a leading local agent providing after-sales services for cars like Mercedes-Benz, to be its service agent in Beijing, Mr Adamczyk said after the launch of the first right-hand drive production Ferrari 456 GT yesterday.

Only nine Ferrari 456 GTs will be made available to Hong Kong buyers this year and Italian Motors has already sold three at $3.68 million each, Mr Yip said.

The highly aerodynamic Ferrari 456 GT features a 442HP V12 engine, a six-speed gearbox in transaxle formation and a rear spoiler which comes into effect at 120 kilometres per hour.